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Cold revisits Minnesota

February 10, 2012

Cold revisits Minnesota

After starting February exceptionally warm last week, temperatures
plummeted this week to more typical wintertime values. On Tuesday,
February 7th Ash Lake in northern St Louis County reported the coldest
temperature in the 48 contiguous states with -20 degrees F. Then on
Wednesday, February 8th, Embarrass reported -17 degrees F, and after a
brief respite from the cold on Thursday, Friday morning , February 10th
Flag Island reported the coldest temperature among the 48 contiguous
states with a reading of -17 degrees F. On February 7th over 20
Minnesota weather observers reported below 0 F readings, while on
February 8th, the number of observers reporting below 0 F readings was
over 30. Then, on Friday, February 10th over 50 Minnesota communities
reported below 0 F readings, as far south as Windom (Cottonwood County)
which reached -2 degrees F. An Extreme Cold Warning was in effect for
northwestern counties on Friday, where windchill values were as cold as
-40 degrees F. Another round of below 0 F readings are expected for
Saturday morning, before a warming trend starts on Sunday.

Planting in February?

Historical records show that February of
1878 was so mild that many Minnesota farmers were in their fields
planting small grains (wheat, barely, oats). Soils had thawed and were
not too wet to till. Many observers reported temperatures in the 40s
and 50s F for half the days of the month. It is the only time in
Minnesota history, that much of the state was planted in the month of
February.

Weekly Weather Potpourri

Tropical Cyclone Jasmine was churning in the South Pacific Ocean well
east of Australia. It was an intense system with winds over 130 mph,
generating sea wave heights over 30 ft. It is expected to dissipate out
to sea southwest of Tonga over the weekend. Another Tropical Cyclone,
Giovanna, was approaching Madagascar in the Southern Indian Ocean with
wind speeds over 100 mph and sea waves over 15 feet. It was expected to
bring heavy rains and strong winds to Madagascar over the weekend.

NOAA
reported this week that January 2012 was the 4th warmest on record for
the 48 contiguous states. It was also exceptional for the lack of snow
cover across the USA, especially when compared to last year. You can
read more here.

A big winter freeze continues to plague most of Europe as some eastern
countries have seen temperatures plummet to -40 degrees F this week.
News services report over 200 deaths due to exposure during this siege
of arctic air. Many rivers and canals froze, including the Danube
River, disrupting shipping traffic there. Freezing rain was making
driving treacherous in parts of the United Kingdom as well. You can
read more at the following links:

It was on February 9, 1870 that the U.S. National Weather Service was
established. At first it was called the Weather Bureau and it was part
of the War Department because, it was said, "military discipline would
probably secure the greatest promptness, regularity, and accuracy in the
required observations." It became a civilian agency 20 years later,
under the Department of Agriculture, and then was switched to the
Commerce Department in 1940. These days, the National Weather Service is
based out of Silver Spring, Maryland. It plays a very big role in
making sure that American air travel is safe, providing up-to-minute
weather updates to air traffic controller centers across the nation.

MPR listener question

I have heard that some areas of the state are experiencing the
lowest seasonal snowfall totals in many years. Will any records be set
for lack of snow?

Answer: Indeed, many are reporting very low snowfall totals this winter. Some of these locations include:

Those who might set new records for lowest ever snowfall seasons include:
Warroad, currently only 8.6 inches
Leech Lake, currently only 11.2 inches
Floodwood, currently only 11.4 inches
Moorhead, currently only 11.8 inches
Duluth Airport, currently only 17.4 inches

Almanac for February 10th

The average MSP high temperature for this date is 24 degrees F (plus or
minus 12 degrees F standard deviation), while the average low is 6
degrees F (plus or minus 13 degrees standard deviation).

Average dew point for February 10th is 9 degree F,
with a maximum of 37 degrees F in 1996 and a minimum of -25 degrees F
in 1982.

All-time state records for February 10th

Scanning the state climatic data base: the all-time high for this
date is 57 degrees F at Luverne (Rock County) in 1977. The all-time
record low for this date is a very cold -49 degrees F at Tower (St Louis
County) in 1899. The all-time record precipitation amount for this date
is 1.69 inches at Montevideo (Chippewa County) in 1965. State record
snowfall for this date is 20.0 inches at Pigeon River (Cook County) in
1939.

Past Weather Features:

February of 1877 brought one of
the warmest ever stretches of winter weather to Minnesota. Ten of the
first eleven days of the month brought daytime highs in the 40s F in St
Paul, peaking with 49 degrees F on the 10th.

February 10, 1885
brought an arctic air mass to Minnesota with lows of -24 degrees F in St
Paul, -27 degrees F in Moorhead, and -32 degrees F at Duluth.
Temperatures remained below the freezing mark until the 25th.

Perhaps
the coldest ever February 10th occurred in 1899 when many communities
reported record-setting lows, including -49 F at Tower, -45 F at
Pokegama Dam, -44 F at Leech Lake and Detroit Lakes, -42 F at Roseau and
Willow River, -40 degrees F at Milaca, -39 F at Lake City, and -35 F at
Caledonia. Temperatures turned around and reached the 40s F by the 15th
of the month.

In the decidedly wet February of 1953 a winter
storm deposited ice, glaze, and 6-8 inches of new snowfall across
central Minnesota over the 9th and 10th. Beardsley reported 15 inches
of snowfall. The ice and glaze caused numerous traffic accidents and
delays, while also leading to some fallen power lines in western
counties.

Another big snow storm occurred over February 9-10,
1965. Many central and northern Minnesota locations reported from 9 to
15 inches of new snow.

February 10-12 brought record warmth to
many areas of Minnesota. Daytime temperatures reached the 40s and 50s F
under bright, sunny skies.

Outlook

Cold to start the weekend with many single digit and below 0 F readings
Saturday morning. Then a warming trend starts again on Sunday, with a
chance for snow on Monday and Tuesday. Generally mild temperatures
prevail again next week.